


Starcrossed Crowns

by chelonianmobile



Series: Prospit and Derse [2]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - Derse/Prospit Royalty, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - No Sburb/Sgrub Sessions, Derse and Prospit, Forbidden Love, Humans Have Quadrants, Kink Meme, Magic, Multi, Quadrants Are Real, Trolls Have Families
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-26
Updated: 2017-11-22
Packaged: 2018-02-06 08:09:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1850734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chelonianmobile/pseuds/chelonianmobile
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: "So the kingdoms of Prospit and Derse are rival kingdoms to the end. Derse hates Prospit more than Prospit hates Derse, but that's not the point. The point is, while the Kings and Queens would like nothing more than to see their rivals dead, their children are having secret affairs with each other."</p><p>GOING TO BE REWRITING PARTS OF THIS TO MAKE FAMILY TREES & WORLDBUILDING MAKE MORE SENSE, STAY TUNED</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Above all in the lands of Prospit and Derse rule the Triple Monarchies of carapace, troll, and human; Kings for war and Queens for wisdom, the earthly servants of the cherubim, and the lands have remained in conflict for as long as their gods have been.

Long ago by human reckoning, the line of Derse's human royalty was cursed with the dying breath of a murdered Prospitian witch-queen. "Until the kingdoms join, every son of your line shall be divided." Over the centuries, the curse took many forms, always surprising its victims, anything from children born with their limbs dividing into double sets of hands or feet, to treachery leading to their heads being divided from their bodies, to their hearts being broken in two.

The new king and queen waited with bated breath. They were surprised and relieved when the queen birthed healthy boy twins - a division they could cope with. They were concerned when many years later a single-born son arrived; the queen died in childbirth, the king remarried, and then came another set of twins, one boy and one girl, and this boy showed no signs of the curse either. This only meant it would be worse later, but there was nothing they could do, and the boys seemed well for now. The female line, at least, was secure in the princess and the daughter of the new queen's sister. And one day the portcullis fell at an unfortunate moment, and the king became the next to be divided, and Queen Anne ruled the humans of Derse alone.


	2. Chapter 2

The great Prospit City Hospital, served by the priests of the aspect of Life, was busy as always, slightly less so with the aid of several volunteers and trainees. As they went about their work, most were tense. It was an important day; the birthday of Prince John, the kingdom's heir, and his twin Jade. Not just any birthday, either, but their twelfth. In the human calendar, the year cycled through the twelve aspects, one a month, and twelve times twelve was special. This morning the royal twins had been paraded through the city atop a float, waving until their arms ached, and this evening John and Jade would be the centres of attention at a great banquet, paid homage to by every noble in Prospit, and be permitted to pick the aspects they would serve for the rest of their lives. Unlike trolls, humans did not necessarily pass their aspects down to their offspring by obligation, and unlike carapacians they did prefer to devote their lives to one above the others rather than serving all equally. John and Jade had shown preference to Breath and Space, respectively, the favoured aspects of their grandparents, and their family and the citizens had applauded them for following the paths of two such beloved nobles. Jade in particular was praised, as Space was the especially holy aspect of Prospit's celestial guardian and Her familiars the Genesis Frogs, from whose eggs grew stars and worlds.

"Miss Jane!" The old priestess looked at the plump teenager in her office doorway, over the tops of her half-moon glasses. "I thought you said you couldn't come in today. I'm always pleased to see a keen worker, but you mustn't neglect your duties at the palace, especially not today."

"I know, ma'am, I know, I have to be getting back, but I just wanted to say hello and ask if you wanted us to bring any leftover food from the banquet here?" the girl asked, straightening her plain beige skirt. With it she wore a white bonnet and blouse, beige jacket, thick spectacles, and the green sigil of Life. "His majesty won't see food wasted when people can use it."

The priestess smiled. "Why, what a lovely gesture! Certainly, dear, if his majesty says you may."

"Thank you, ma'am," said Jane with a nod, and held up the basket of white roses in her hand. "I must go back to the palace now, I have to present my gift to the prince and princess."

"How sweet of you. Good girl. Hurry along, they'll need every pair of hands!"

Jane allowed herself to be shooed politely from the hospital, and marched proudly back along the familiar route to the palace, trusting in the white roses and her dull serving-girl's cloak to ensure nobody looked close enough to see the glorious pearls within the basket, her real present for her beloved cousins, purchased from a jeweller who knew her and could be trusted. As she was not one of the direct line of the king, few in the city were familiar enough with Lady Jane's face to recognise her, especially when she wore her deep-brimmed bonnet, and she could carry on her really _important_ work in the city much more easily incognito.

The streets of Prospit City shone in white and gold, as always, though today the streets were buried under layers of petals and coloured paper that had been flung from windows over the royal children's birthday parade. Today was a holiday, the people would clean up the mess tomorrow. Sellers of wine and candies and flowers did roaring trades, as did street artists creating pictures of the royal family, and Jane offered smiles and greetings to every citizen she saw. Prospit was a friendly country, joy and mirth being revered...

Jane was thrust aside by a white-shelled watchman, then another, charging after a slim figure who Jane had almost missed running through the crowd. "Stop thief!"


	3. Chapter 3

A chase! How terribly exciting. Jane jogged along behind the watchmen, trying to avoid losing them or their quarry in the crowd, many of whom were also following. Crime was quite rare in Prospit, the people being well-cared-for and relatively content, and a theft in broad daylight on a busy street in a wealthy district was entirely unheard of. Jane looked back and caught a glimpse of the probable victim of the theft, a veiled and robed purpleblooded troll being comforted and restrained by the burly carapacians who had been carrying her sedan chair. Jane hoped the troll's moirail wasn't far, or the thief might not make it to trial.

The thief and their pursuers turned a corner, but Jane knew the city well enough to find a couple of alleyways to make shortcuts through, and came back out to a main street far enough ahead to catch a glimpse of the runner; a human girl in a white coat and veiling scarf, strands of white-blonde hair emerging from her hood, clutching a box. Jane followed, breathing hard and wishing she'd had time to warm up properly. She was strong, though, and far fitter than she looked, so she kept going. Through the streets and squares of Prospit they went, through the marketplace and the temple district, often passing the same streets twice (was the thief unfamiliar with the city, perhaps?) and down towards the docks, where the watchmen stopped and cursed as they realised their quarry had vanished. One blew a whistle, alerting the crowd and a nearby colleague, who blew her own whistle, causing whistles to sound around the district and several watchfolk to appear from the surrounding streets. One, wearing the stripes of a sergeant on his teal uniform, directed the others to spread out and search, and Jane tried to slip quietly away. She was quite far out of her way now, perhaps she should catch a lift back.

As she walked past a battered gate, a white-clad hand shot from a hole in a broken plank and grabbed her collar, pulling her against the fence, and a voice behind it said "Shush!" A wisp of wine scent reached her on the air - good wine, too, the thief must have had quite a skill to either afford or steal it. Jane did not cry out; though the police officers were only a good scream away, the thief was much closer and may have a weapon she hadn't seen.

"I'm not gonna hurt you," the thief whispered rapidly, sounding surprisingly nervous, and very young. Jane tried to look out of the corner of her eye, and saw only a hint of scarf-wrapped face, and a pair of petal-pink eyes. The accent was unfamiliar. "I just want some directions, 'kay? Now, I want you to open this gate and come in, 'kay? There's nobody 'round, it'll be easier if we can see each other, right?"

Very carefully, heart beating rapidly, Jane turned the handle slowly, entered the area behind (which proved to be the grounds of a warehouse), and closed it behind her, leaving her alone with the thief. The girl was not much taller than her, slender, and the skin on her hands and the small amount of her face that was visible had an odd milky cast to it, as if she never saw the sun. Jane, for lack of anything better to say, said "Good morning."

"Morning, miss, and I am sorry, mean no harm, pinky swear." The girl winked, clicked her tongue, and made an odd pointing gesture with the hand not clutching the box. It rattled as she moved - full of coins, Jane guessed. She slid the scarf from her lower face and pushed back her hood, revealing a broad friendly smile full of white teeth and sweet winey breath, in a very pretty face which looked about Jane's age. "I just wanna ask for directions to the bay, 'kay? I don't know this place vee well."

"Vee? Oh, 'very'. Um. Well, they're not very far..." Jane was less afraid now, but still flustered. The girl really was rather pretty, and seemed friendly for a criminal, and Jane felt very plump and plain beside her. The girl was a thief, and she should turn her in, but the girl had such charm... and it was only money, yes? She would go back, find the name of the troll who had been robbed, and quietly repay her. It was worth any amount of gold to have a little adventure. "I do know the area, I can take you down to the beach."

The girl raised a finger. "Not right into the hands of the law, right? I pinky swore for both of us, you can't go back on it."

"Pinky swear indeed, hoohoo!" Jane reached out a hand and linked fingers with the thief, who smiled warmly at her, and she stopped feeling plain and felt like the most fortunate person in the world just to see that lovely smile. Blushing, she pulled away. "Come on, dear."

"'Dear'?" The thief chuckled. "Aww, thanks."

Jane peered out through the hole in the gate, saw nobody, and eased it open. "Come on."

Thanks to Jane's knowledge of the area, they made it down to the rocky beach without being seen, keeping their hoods up and both being prepared to run. Once they reached the shore, the thief took the lead, and Jane followed her down to a tiny cove just big enough to hold a little skiff with mottled grey camouflage sails and paint. The thief threw her spoils into the stern and gave Jane another beaming smile which made the gnawing guilt Jane felt disappear in a breath. "You're sooooo sweet!" she said, clasping her hands in glee. "Never thought I'd find someone so helpful here." Before Jane could reply, the girl leaned forward and planted a kiss on her cheek. "Or so cute."

Jane stood still, blushing, as the thief pushed her boat into the water and jumped in. Jane ran after her, soaking her shoes in the waves. "Wait! I never got your name. Mine's Jane!"

"Call me Roxy!" the girl called back, grabbing her oars and paddling out into the Skaian Channel. "Roxy the Rogue, robber of the rich, rescuer of the ruined, ravishingly radiant rum-guzzlin' roisterer!" She pulled a bottle of wine from under the seat, popped the cork, and raised it in a toast as the sea carried her away. "G'bye, Lady Jane!"

Jane stayed ankle-deep in the water, holding her skirt up with one hand and waving with the other until Roxy's boat disappeared over the horizon, at which point she realised the basket on her arm was a lot lighter than it should have been.


	4. Chapter 4

A shell of chocolate cracked between the little princess's pearly teeth, releasing violet-flavoured cream, and she put the lid back on the box and tucked it away, savouring the one sweet she had allowed herself. Control was paramount for both royalty and seers, and she would practice at every opportunity. She delicately licked her lips and curled up in her deep pillow-filled chair, concentrating hard on the crystal ball on the stand in front of her. Princess Rose was one of the very few psychic humans in Derse, and she intended to develop her powers in service of her country; tonight, by observing the enemy at their most vulnerable.

The ball began to glow, and Rose's fingers entwined in the chain of her sigil as she sat back and relaxed - finding the needed location to view was the hard part, maintaining the established connection took a lot less focus. The view of Prospit's great ballroom made the ball gleam as yellow as the golden Light symbol in her hand. Her twelfth birthday had been mere months ago, and the novelty had not worn off.

Prospit's palace did not look all that different from Derse's, really. Rumours abounded that King Egbert lived in a dank dungeon with the bones of Dersites chained to the walls, or that Prospit was so backward that court was still held in a wood hut or a stone circle, but of course that wasn't true. It wasn't as cosy as Derse's palace, far too light and airy, with eye-burning yellows and whites in place of rich purples (the most expensive colour of all, yellow was _easy_ to make), the windows were too big, and the drapes and tapestries were fine gossamer silk instead of plush velvet. The courtiers' clothes were of thinner cloth and fewer layers, and were arranged less stiffly and formally than those of the Dersite court. Rose tutted as she spotted young men with their top buttons open, young women with their hair unbound... Well, Prospit was warmer than Derse, but still, no need to be sloppy on such a big night. The dances were livelier than those of Dersite balls, less stiff and stately, and Rose ignored the blasphemous voice whispering in her mind that it looked like a lot more fun.

A hulking black form briefly obscured her view, then moved away, revealing itself to be the Prospitian troll king, the Grand Highblood. Seadwellers having for the most part disappeared from Prospit to Derse for reasons of anything from politics to climate, the land-dwelling purplebloods had taken control. The Grand Highblood was juggling, throwing the golden knives and forks from the table high up into the air and to and fro with his laughing sons, to applause from the assembled nobles. Dreadful manners. The carapacian White King and Queen looked on with gentle tolerance, and King Egbert clapped as hard as anyone - his love for clowning was well known. The Highblood picked up a delicate cream cake between two forks in his huge hands, tossed it back and forth, and threw it into the hands of the boy at the head of the table, who Rose recognised as Prince John.

The boy, Rose reflected as she drew the focus in on him, was unimpressive. He was decidedly rotund and short, his glasses were as thick as tankard bottoms, his hair was almost as much of a mess as the troll's was, his teeth were badly crooked, and a glob of dressing was caught in the fine links of his sigil chain. Breath, Rose noticed - the linked partner of her own Light. He put the cake aside and returned to the complex arrangement of salad on his plate, slices of tomato and apple and carrot forming a chrysanthemum atop leaves of lettuce, which John had made a sizable dent in already. The dishes on the tables were all similarly beautiful and skilfully made, one area where Prospit and Derse were evenly matched in Rose's eyes; food was a point of pride and competition in both cultures, especially desserts. The prince ate with obvious relish, chewing slowly and commenting to the servers on the goodness of almost every bite. To see a prince even deigning to notice his servants on his own special day was a little odd. Rose pulled the view outwards, revealing Princess Jade, who was deep in conversation with the troll prince Gamzee, but was also taking the time to smile and express thanks as she was served. How strange. Jade was also small and buck-toothed and bespectacled, her loose dark hair filled with apple and orange blossoms, and a Space sigil around her neck. Rose frowned in distaste. Was the princess really called to Space or just choosing it to show off to her people, to pander to the Prospitian heresy?

"Gods, I can taste the fucking derpiness from here."

Rose refrained from reacting to her twin's sudden appearance over her shoulder. "Practising flashstepping again?"

"Yuh-huh." Dave slid around in front of her, pushing his dark glasses up the bridge of his nose to look closer at the crystal ball. His Time sigil swung as he moved. "Practising your creeper skills? Better watch myself when I'm in the bathroom, what I'm haulin' round'll make you die of shock."

"Indeed, I'd be quite amazed at how you managed to find it without a magnifying glass."

"Ah, so cruel, sister dear, your tongue's colder than Void-month. And in a lady who'll turn out hotter than a Prospit mid-Heart noon if she stays lookin' anything like me, though hopefully not as manly." Dave flexed a skinny arm and let his lip twitch a little. "Seriously, you're spying on a birthday party? That's kind of sad, Rose, we just had ours and you're sittin' up in your study watching theirs like a sad puppy out in the rain? We weren't gonna be invited, hate to break it to ya."

"I was merely curious, Dave. We know so little about the Prospit royals on a personal level, and more information can only be a good thing, can it not?" Rose said.

"You really need a black cat to stroke as you scheme."

"That's witches, David. I'm just a perfectly normal seer, and I intend to use my abilities for the benefit of my country."

As the feast in the crystal ball proceeded, gifts were presented to the guests of honour between courses; finely-crafted clothes and jewellery, illuminated manuscripts, magical trinkets. A gentleman with a large moustache ushered in two maids bringing large boxes on trolleys, one wrapped in blue and one in green, and swept off the lids with a flourish. From the green box, a large white ball of fluff rocketed out, dashed under the table, and jumped into Jade's lap; when it stopped moving, Rose was able to make out limbs and ears, and determined it to be a puppy. The blue box remained dormant for a moment, and then a slimy yellow head peered out and extended a tongue - a giant salamander. Rose wrinkled her nose, but Prince John seemed overjoyed, calling for a basin of water and trying to feed the rest of his lettuce to the disinterested amphibian. Rose wished he could hear her from here, she'd tell the silly boy that salamanders were carnivores... Ah, a bigger boy with green eyes was telling him so for her, and now he was feeding it ham. She hoped he remembered to wash his hands before eating any more. He was the enemy, yes, but he should die an honourable death in battle against Derse, not be poisoned accidentally by his pet.

Dave had gone quiet. That was unusual. She tried to peer through his glasses to see where he was looking; he seemed to be watching the princess fussing over her puppy. "Do I detect a treacherous interest, brother dear?"

"Hell no, I just like dogs, alright?" Dave said, expression not changing.

"Good. Imagine, starcrossed royal lovers from warring kingdoms, you'd have no choice but to die tragically. Perhaps in battle against each other, or throwing yourselves from cliffs on opposite coasts to join forever in the Channel? Or worse..." She shuddered dramatically. "Perhaps you'd bring peace through a marriage pact!"

"Ew, can you imagine what our kids would look like? White hair and red eyes from our side and those teeth? Yeah, the great kingdom of Prosperse united under the rule of a line of magicians' bunnies..."

"Cute."

"Oh, uh, I forgot why I came in," Dave said suddenly. "Mom wanted me to tell you Roxy's gone missing again, and she wants you to try tracking her down."

Rose's eye was caught by a blue-eyed girl presenting a basket of roses to the royal twins, and listened closely, watching the girl's lips. Sound from a crystal ball was always fuzzy, but she managed to make out the girl's apology for not providing a better present, the twins' protests that what she had brought was fine, and then something about how their original present had been stolen by "a most _disgraceful_ young lady, oh, I do hope the Watch manage to track her down, I'll give her such a talking-to, at least she should be easy to find, I don't know of many humans with pink eyes..."

"Well, I don't know where she is now," Rose murmured, "but I know where she seems to have been."


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trying to start my old fics up again and I found another chapter I'd written ages ago for this. Not really sure where to take it now; anyone's input would be lovely! I might go back and re-edit the first chapter to rearrange the amily trees for easier story purposes, thoughts?

Prince Dirk lightly tapped his swordblade on the arm of his defeated opponent and nodded. "Well fought."

"Not as well as your hayness," said the troll, bowing his head and remaining on one knee. He was technically unarmed, but a glance at his muscled arms and razor-like claws and nobody would have begrudged Dirk the sword.

Dirk's brow wrinkled in concern. "Not as good as your usual, to be honest. Is something wrong, Horuss?"

Horuss bit his lip. "Sire, I feel it would be most inappropriate for a human prince to listen to the woes of his troll page."

"Then I order you to tell me. You're not much help to me if you're not at your best, you know."

"Well, sire, my sharing of my problems rather _is_ the problem," Horuss said, standing up and towering over Dirk. He sighed. "My father is insisting upon discussing my first marriage."

"First? Oh, right, quadrants. Sorry, if a human said that we'd think it was a case of pessimism." Horuss chuckled politely, and Dirk added "'Sharing problems is the problem'... pale, then?"

"Indeed, sire. With the son of the Orphaner, to be precise."

"And what do you think of him?"

"To be brutally honest, sire, I find him a dreadfully frustrating troll with a total lack of social graces most unbecoming of his blood."

"In the good way or the bad way? I mean, palemates are supposed to stop each other doing bad things, aren't they?"

"Yes. I confess I am unsure, sire. I see him less and less often as we grow, and his father... unnerves me."

Dirk would have replied, but his eyes were drawn to an open window above them by a shout from within. It seemed Lady Roxanne was in trouble again.

\---

"But it's not really theft if I stole from a thief, is it?" Roxy complained, lightly massaging her palms with her fingertips. Thin red marks ran across the palms, skin split in the centre. Queen Anne, unlike the Orphaner, believed in making her charges take their own punishments. Caning was rare, but, as she had told Roxy, misdeeds of such magnitude as running off to Prospit disguised as a common sneak-thief required a consequence that would stick. Irritably, she kicked her legs back and forth, earning a scowl from Rose as her shoes scuffed the princess' bedpost. All four royal children congregated to commiserate when one was punished.

Dirk handed her a tub of salve. "Here, Horuss and I use this on bruises, it'll help. What was that about a thief?"

"Well, I guess she was a thief. Why else would a maid be carrying pearls? Yeah, maybe delivery, but who'd trust an unarmed kid our age with that, and why'd she hide 'em in a flower basket?"

"Maybe that's what they counted on," Dirk suggested. "Who'd look for them there?"

"Or maybe she was just some rich girl in a maid fetish outfit?" Dave suggested, deadpan.

"Yeah, not too likely," Roxy said, her usual smile returning. "Either way, I got a good fence. Dropped 'em off with him on my way in, once Mom and Auntie Anne let me outside again I'll pick up the cash and Fef and I will find some folks in need of it. Those pearls'll be doing much more good here."

Rose smiled back. "Indeed. There never does seem to be a shortage of people in need here, does there? I hope this girl you met would appreciate that."

"Mm, I know you're joking, Rosie, but I really think she would. She was a sweetie."

"... Wait," Rose said, smile disappearing suddenly. "What did she look like?"

"Dark hair, glasses, blue eyes, um..." Roxy made a gesture several inches out from her chest.

"That was her! I saw her in my scrying! You stole the Prospitian royal childrens' birthday present!"

Roxy gasped, and the boys' eyebrows rose up from behind their glasses. Mouth still hanging open, Roxy examined Rose's face for signs of a lie; finding none, she burst into a great whoop of laughter.

"Oh my gods," she giggled. "Good thing we're already in conflict with them or I'd have just started one!"


End file.
